نَوَاقِضُ الْوُضُوءِ

Good news: wudu does not go away by itself! If you made wudu for Dhuhr, you can still pray 'Asr with it, as long as nothing has broken it.

What breaks wudu (simply): • Going to the toilet: doing a wee or a poo. • Passing wind (a fart), even without a sound. • Sleeping deeply, lying down, so that we no longer know what is happening. [À VÉRIFIER : les écoles diffèrent, l'imam tranche] • Losing consciousness (fainting).

When one of these things happens, I make wudu again before praying. The Prophet ﷺ said that Allah does not accept the prayer of someone who has lost their wudu until they make it again (Bukhari 135, Muslim 225).

What does not break wudu: • Eating or drinking (rinsing the mouth is good). • Talking, laughing outside the prayer, playing, walking. • A little nap sitting up, where we can still hear what is going on. [À VÉRIFIER : les écoles diffèrent, l'imam tranche]

There are other cases on which scholars do not all agree: ask the imam of your mosque what is done where you live. [À VÉRIFIER : les écoles diffèrent, l'imam tranche]

And if I am not sure? A companion asked the Prophet ﷺ: "What if someone thinks they feel something during the prayer?" He answered: they should not stop until they hear a sound or notice a smell (Bukhari 137, Muslim 361). So: if I am sure I made wudu and I only doubt whether I lost it, I still have wudu. Doubt breaks nothing!

There is also a big washing of the whole body, ghusl, for some situations. You will learn it later with your teacher or your parents.

Little activity: the "Does it break it or not?" game. Your parent says something (eating an apple, going to the toilet, a nap lying down, laughing, brushing your teeth…), and you answer "It breaks it!" or "It doesn't!".

Understanding the lesson

Explanation Wudu is like a lamp that is switched on: it stays on until something switches it off. What switches it off is mainly what comes out of the body from below (wee, poo, wind), and deep sleep or fainting, because we no longer know what happened. Islam is an easy religion: we do not need to make wudu again for each prayer if we have kept it, and we do not worry about a mere doubt (Bukhari 137, Muslim 361). Shaytan likes to make us doubt to tire us out. The Prophet's ﷺ rule protects us: we stay with what we are sure of.

Lessons to draw from it • Before each prayer, I ask myself: "Do I still have wudu?" • If something has broken it, I make it again without grumbling. • If I only doubt, I do not worry: I stay with what I am sure of.

Key points to remember • Wudu is broken by: the toilet, wind, deep sleep, fainting. • It is not broken by: eating, drinking, talking, playing. • No wudu, no prayer (Bukhari 135, Muslim 225). • Doubt does not break wudu (Bukhari 137, Muslim 361).

The main message I keep my wudu like a lamp that is on: I know what switches it off, I switch it on again when needed, and I do not let doubt bother me.